GESIS Training Courses
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Scientific Coordination

Sebastian E. Wenz
Tel: +49 221 47694-159

Administrative Coordination

Loretta Langendörfer M.A.
Tel: +49 221 47694-143

Laboratory Experiments

About
Location:
Cologne / Unter Sachsenhausen 6-8
 
General Topics:
Course Level:
Format:
Software used:
Duration:
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Fees:
Students: 550 €
Academics: 825 €
Commercial: 1650 €
 
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Lecturer(s): Florian Heine

About the lecturer - Florian Heine

Course description

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to laboratory experiments in the social and behavioral sciences, offering participants a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in designing, conducting, and analyzing lab-based studies. Laboratory experiments have become a crucial tool for testing theories and identifying causal relationships, especially in settings where observational data may suffer from biases and confounding variables. This course will equip participants with the skills necessary to understand and apply this powerful method to their own research.
The course is structured to cater to researchers from various backgrounds, including sociology, political science, and economics. No prior experience with experimental methods is required. We will cover essential topics such as the advantages of experimental designs, key principles of experiment construction (e.g., randomization and control), and different types of lab experiments, from individual decision-making to strategic interaction between groups. The course will also touch on modern developments in experimental economics, including trust and risk behavior, public goods, and gender differences in competitive settings.
Teaching will be conducted through a combination of interactive lectures, practical sessions, and group discussions. A major part of the course will involve programming and running simple experiments using zTree, a widely used software for conducting economic experiments. Participants will also have the chance to analyze experimental data using tools like Stata or R.
In addition to laboratory experiments, we will briefly introduce online experimental platforms such as Prolific and MTurk, discussing how they complement traditional lab-based approaches.
By the end of the course, participants will have acquired practical knowledge and the technical skills needed to design and run their own experiments, making this course ideal for anyone looking to incorporate experimental methods into their research.
 
Please note: There is a big trade fair ("IDS 2025") in Cologne during week 2 (25 - 29 March 2025). We recommend that you book your hotel accommodation as soon as possible.
 
The full syllabus will follow soon.
 
Organizational Structure of the Course
The course will follow a dynamic structure with a blend of interactive lectures and hands-on sessions to ensure that participants can both grasp the theoretical foundations of laboratory experiments and apply them in practice. Each day will consist of approximately three hours of interactive lectures in the morning, followed by three hours of hands-on exercises in the afternoon. These exercises are designed to allow participants to develop their own first experiment, guided by the lecturer and teaching assistant (TA).
The practical sessions will involve participants working individually or in groups on designing and programming experiments, with close supervision and assistance. We will use zTree software for experiment programming and Stata or R for data analysis, with exercises focused on specific concepts covered in the morning lectures.
 
Wednesday's Field Trip to The Cologne Laboratory for Economic Research
 
A key highlight of the course will be a visit to the Cologne Laboratory for Economic Research (CLER) on Wednesday. Participants will have the opportunity to run a simple experiment using each other as participants, putting their programming skills into practice in a real-world laboratory setting. This experience will allow participants to collect data from their peers and later analyze these data using the tools introduced earlier in the course. By running their own experiments, participants will gain valuable experience in managing all phases of a lab experiment-from design and programming to data collection and analysis.
Throughout the course, I will provide continuous support during exercise and lab sessions, offering feedback on experiment designs, assisting with programming issues, and guiding participants through the data analysis phase. The teaching assistant will also be available for consultations, helping to ensure that participants feel fully supported while working on their projects.
Participants are expected to actively engage with the material, collaborate in discussions, and work on their experiments during the hands-on sessions. This course is designed to be highly interactive and practical, ensuring that participants leave with a strong ability to conduct their own lab experiments in their respective fields.


Target group

You will find the course useful if:
  • you are a social science researcher interested in applying experimental methods to study human behavior, decision-making, or social interactions;
  • you are a PhD student, Postdoc, or advanced Master's student in sociology, political science, psychology, or related fields, seeking to incorporate laboratory experiments in your research;
  • you want to design and conduct lab-based experiments, particularly to explore topics such as trust, cooperation, or competition;
  • you want to gain hands-on experience in programming and running simple experiments;
  • you are looking for practical guidance on how to analyze experimental data and interpret results for your research.


  • Learning objectives

    By the end of the course you will:
  • be able to design and implement laboratory experiments to investigate social and behavioral research questions;
  • have gained practical experience in programming simple experiments using zTree (or alternative platforms) and running them with participants;
  • understand key concepts in experimental design, including how to structure an experiment, write instructions, and collect data;
  • be familiar with methods to analyze experimental data and draw meaningful conclusions for your own research;
  • have a broader understanding of how experimental methods can be applied in social science research to answer causal questions.


  • Prerequisites

  • A general interest in causal inference and behavioral research topics.
  • Some experience with programming or willingness to learn the basics of experiment design software (e.g., zTree).
  • Familiarity with statistical analysis and regression techniques (e.g., basic knowledge of running and interpreting multiple linear regression models in R, Stata, or similar software).
  •  
    Software and Hardware Requirements
    As participant, you should bring your own laptop for use in the course. Before the course, please obtain a free license for using z-Tree, and download the software. The program is licensed free of charge. To get a license, please, follow this link. Once you obtain your license, you will be able to download z-Tree from this webpage: http://www.ztree.uzh.ch/downloads.html.
     
    Please also install either Stata or R/RStudio on your laptop prior to the course. The latest version of R is available for free at https://cran.r-project.org/, and RStudio is available at https://www.rstudio.com/. For those who need it, GESIS can provide short-term licenses for Stata for the duration of the course. You should also ensure that you have the rights to install additional packages, such as Stata ado-files or R packages, on your laptop during the course.